Big loser in Bolivia election? National unity

Resource-rich lowland states move toward autonomy

Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

Published
4:00 am PDT, Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Bolivia's President Evo Morales jokes during a news conference at the presidential palace in La Paz after winning a landslide national recall election vote August 11, 2008. REUTERS/David Mercado (BOLIVIA)

Bolivia's President Evo Morales jokes during a news conference at the presidential palace in La Paz after winning a landslide national recall election vote August 11, 2008. REUTERS/David Mercado (BOLIVIA)

Photo: DAVID MERCADO, REUTERS

Photo: DAVID MERCADO, REUTERS

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Bolivia's President Evo Morales jokes during a news conference at the presidential palace in La Paz after winning a landslide national recall election vote August 11, 2008. REUTERS/David Mercado (BOLIVIA)

Bolivia's President Evo Morales jokes during a news conference at the presidential palace in La Paz after winning a landslide national recall election vote August 11, 2008. REUTERS/David Mercado (BOLIVIA)

Photo: DAVID MERCADO, REUTERS

Big loser in Bolivia election? National unity

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Both sides in Bolivia's bitter political standoff came out of a weekend recall referendum Monday with reason to declare victory. The big loser appeared to be national unity.

President Evo Morales won a renewed mandate for his socialist vision, garnering more than 60 percent of the vote, according to preliminary counting.

But his chief antagonists in the rebellious, resource-rich crescent of lowland states known as the "half moon" also savored their triumph. All four opposition governors in the region easily survived the plebiscite in an explicit endorsement of their march toward regional autonomy - a move that Morales decries as a treasonous splitting of the nation.

The president's electoral might was heavily concentrated in the four heavily indigenous western and central highland states, long his base, which he swept handily. But a majority of voters in each of Bolivia's other five states apparently voted for Morales' expulsion from office, according to preliminary results that won't be official for a week or so.

The upshot, according to many analysts, is that Bolivia is as divided as ever - perhaps more so, as hard-liners in the two antagonistic camps may now have the upper hands.

Any chance that Sunday's vote would inspire national harmony are fading.

"What is clear is that the extremes have been strengthened," columnist Ricardo Paz wrote. "We're in the same position as before the referendum, but more polarized and with more profound differences."

Following the elections, many despaired at the possibility of reconciling two distinct, mutually exclusive views of the nation: Morales' vision of a socialist, heavily indigenous republic versus the pro-capitalist, Westernized and decentralized Bolivia now on display in the eastern and southern lowlands.

"The national polarization has never been as clearly demarked as now," ousted La Paz Gov. Jose Luis Paredes said after the vote. "I worry about the unity of the country."

The daily La Razon compared the scenario to a hard-fought soccer game that went from a 1-1 score before the vote to a 3-3 score after - still tied, but with both squads having mounted successful strikes and gearing for new attacks.

"What will these actors use their victories for?" La Razon asked in an editorial. "That is the question that will define the immediate future."

Eight governors faced recall on Sunday. In addition to the four victorious lowland governors, one pro-Morales and two opposition governors were ousted, and a governor who supports the president was victorious.

Both Morales and his major rivals seem poised to push forward their own, clashing agendas following the election.

In his victory speech, Morales eschewed his hard-line rhetoric and sought a conciliatory tone, even congratulating the opposition governors who survived the recall vote. He referred repeatedly to the unity of the Bolivian nation.

On Monday, however, the president's aides were already talking about reviving Morales' most incendiary blueprint: a constitutional overhaul. The president's new Magna Carta would break up large land holdings in the east, throttle demands for regional autonomy and allow Morales to run for re-election, currently barred.

"It is time to deepen, in a democratic way, the transformation of the nation," declared Cesar Navarro, a leader of Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party.

Leaders from the opposition bloc were also preparing to accelerate their disputed aims.

Lowland lawmakers proclaimed their intention to go ahead with autonomy measures that would give the provinces greater control over policing, taxes, natural resources and local government. The four states of the half-moon region plan to set up parallel legislatures and, in some cases, taxing structures.

"Bolivians are calling on their political class to arrive at an accord," said Eduardo Stein, a former Guatemalan vice president who headed the electoral observer team here for the Organization of American States.